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Best Value Geological & Earth Sciences Schools in the Great Lakes Region

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2023 Best Value Geological & Earth Sciences Schools in the Great Lakes Region

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

25 Colleges
$31,434 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$35,990 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Geological & Earth Sciences School for You

Out of all the majors we analyze each year, geological and earth sciences was ranked #82 in the country. In fact 2,491 degrees and certificates were handed out in 2020-2021.

There are so many programs in today's world that it can tough to figure out which one is the right one for you. You can choose a traditional brick and mortar school, or with the growth of online education, you can attend a school half-way across the country without even leaving your house. Also there are many trade schools that offer short-term programs that open up more career options.

The Best Value Geological & Earth Sciences Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking is one of many tools that Grad Degree Search has developed to help you make your educational decision. Our analysis looked at 25 schools in the Great Lakes Region to see which programs offered the best value experiences for geology students with the aim of identifying those quality schools that are more affordable than some of their counterparts.

This ranking is not just a list of inexpensive schools. We also consider each school's quality, since we believe a low-quality school may not be a 'bargain' at any price. Specifically, our score for quality is discounted by the published tuition and fees charged by the given college. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The more quality your dollar buys, the better the value.

For nationwide and regional rankings, we use out-of-state tuition and fees in our calculations. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.

2023 Best Value Geological & Earth Sciences Schools in the Great Lakes Region

The colleges and universities below are the best value schools for geology majors pursuing a .

Top 10 Best Geological & Earth Sciences Schools

Our analysis found Illinois State University to be the best value school for geological and earth sciences students who want to pursue a degree in the Great Lakes Region . Located in the suburb of Normal, Illinois State is a public college with a very large student population.

Illinois State undergraduate students pay an average of $24,172 in tuition and fees each year.

As a testament to the quality of education it offers, Illinois State also is in the top 20% of our Best Geological & Earth Sciences Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking.

Read full report on Geological & Earth Sciences at Illinois State University

$11,880 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Akron Main Campus. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Geological & Earth Sciences Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. University of Akron Main Campus is a fairly large public school located in the city of Akron.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at University of Akron Main Campus are $11,880 a year.

Read More…

$14,738 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Northern Illinois University. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Value Geological & Earth Sciences Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in the suburb of Dekalb, NIU is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at NIU are $14,738 per year.

Full Geological & Earth Sciences at Northern Illinois University Report

$21,050 Average Tuition & Fees

The excellent programs at Bowling Green State University - Main Campus helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best geological and earth sciences schools in the Great Lakes Region . Located in the town of Bowling Green, BGSU is a public college with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at BGSU are $21,050 a year.

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$22,810 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Ohio University - Athens Campus. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Value Geological & Earth Sciences Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. OHIO Athens is a very large public school located in the town of Athens.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at OHIO Athens are $22,810 a year.

Full Geological & Earth Sciences at Ohio University - Athens Campus Report

#6

Indiana State University

Terre Haute, IN
$20,862 Average Tuition & Fees

Indiana State University ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Geological & Earth Sciences Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in the city of Terre Haute, Indiana State is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Indiana State are $20,862 a year.

Full Geological & Earth Sciences at Indiana State University Report

University of Wisconsin - Madison did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for geological and earth sciences students. It came in at #7 on the list. UW - Madison is a very large public school located in the city of Madison.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UW - Madison are $38,608 per year.

UW - Madison also claimed a spot on our Best Geological & Earth Sciences Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools in this category.

Full Geological & Earth Sciences at University of Wisconsin - Madison Report

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value geological and earth sciences programs. UIUC is a fairly large public school located in the small city of Champaign.

UIUC undergraduate students pay an average of $37,632 in tuition and fees each year.

In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, UIUC is ranked #5 for overall quality for geology in the Great Lakes Region .

Read full report on Geological & Earth Sciences at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

$16,768 Average Tuition & Fees

Western Michigan University ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Geological & Earth Sciences Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in the small city of Kalamazoo, WMU is a public school with a fairly large student population.

WMU undergraduate students pay an average of $16,768 in tuition and fees each year.

Read More…

#10

Purdue University - Main Campus

West Lafayette, IN

Purdue University - Main Campus came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Geological & Earth Sciences Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Purdue is a very large public school located in the city of West Lafayette.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Purdue are $28,794 a year.

In addition to its great value ranking, Purdue is in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Geological & Earth Sciences Schools in the Great Lakes Region list.

Read full report on Geological & Earth Sciences at Purdue University - Main Campus

Best Geological & Earth Sciences Colleges by State

Explore the best geological and earth sciences schools for a specific state in the Great Lakes region.

State Degrees Awarded
Michigan 56
Illinois 52
Ohio 75
Indiana 39
Wisconsin 19

Geological & Earth Sciences is one of 8 different types of programs to choose from.

Related Major Annual Graduates
Chemistry 5,005
Physics 3,727
Materials Sciences 448
Astronomy & Astrophysics 371
Atmospheric Sciences & Meteorology 342

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.

  • The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
  • Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
  • Credit for the banner image above goes to Kelvinsong.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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